Hello.
Like everyone else on Earth, it's utterly impossible for me to have seen every TV show in my lifetime, so I still have a few things I wanna catch up on. For example, a show I haven't seen by one of my favorite people in the industry, Joss Whedon, a geek king known for such popular entries as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which created it's own slang, and "Firefly," a short-lived show that's grown a massive fanbase all across the world. The show of his entries I haven't seen is "Angel."
"Angel" stars David Boreneaz as the titular character, a vampire, as he leaves Sunnydale, Buffy, his love he can't be with, for Los Angeles, the City of Angels. There, after coercing from a half-human, half-demon named Doyle, he founds Angel Investigations, a detective service for the strange and unnatural along with the afformented Doyle and old friend from Sunnydale, Cordelia Chase, who's trust fund was just recently broken.
After only seeing two seasons and soon to start the third, I still know that I love this show. It rivals Firefly to me and surpasses Buffy by being more consistent. It's everything I want in a TV series. Funny, grim, and adventurous. Plus full of lovable characters. So, today I am going to list my top ten episodes from the underrated first season. Let's begin:
10) "Sense & Sensitivity"
by Tim Minear
Plot: Kate Lockley, Angel's cop friend from the second episode in the series, is, along with the rest of the force, rendered emotinally unglued by Wolfram & Hart, who are trying to break out an associate she put away, Little Tony.
And Because?: I'm a fan of the comedic Angel episodes, because the writers are so good at writing snappy and fun dialouge, so when it's spread through an episode, I have no problems. This one gets especially funny when Angel becomes emotionally undone, feeling guilty about breaking into the LAPD and offering hugs to his friends. I also love Kate, and the stuff with her asshole of a father is truly saddening.
09) "Expecting"
by Howard Gordon
Plot: After doing it with a man she met at a party, Cordelia wakes up to find herself twelve months pregnant. Impregnated with a demon spawn and under a trance to take it to the father, Cordelia is chased by Angel & Wesley to stop her from reaching her destination.
And Because?: Told you. This one is super underrated in my opinion, as I've seen it nowhere even in most top Angel episodes. Someone else has to like it! Cordelia's situation is rightly creepy and Angel and Wesley's reactions to the problem ("I never realized how disgusting that was.") are superb. (Minor spoilers for Season 2): Why is it Cordelia that always gets impregnated with demon spawn?
08) "The Ring"
by Howard Gordon
Plot: Kidnapped and taken to a fight club after being tricked by a client, Angel must try and convince the fighters to work together and make an escape as Cordelia and Wesley attempt to track down where he's been taken.
And Because?: True the storyline in this is horribly cliche and overdone, but this might be the best use I've seen of it. It introduces Lilah, who (like Lindsey) is evil but I can't help but love, and action is a pleasure of mine to watch (yay for being a dude), so this helps it a ton. Plus, Wesley gets his first ever badass moment, something he gets much of later on.
07) "City Of"
by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt
Plot: Brooding and fighting crime lost in the trail of redemption, Angel decides to take things a bit farther and try and help a young woman who's being tracked by powerful vampire Russell, thanks to help from Doyle, a half-man, half-demon who gets visions from the Powers That Be.
And Because?: This one I don't like for its story, but more for its legacy. It introduced Lindsey & Wolfram & Hart, gave us Doyle, and set up Angel & Cordelia for the rest of the show. Though certain parts of the episode are really good. I like Tina, and Cordelia's dechipering of what Russell really is is one of the funniest moments in the first season. ("What? No I'm not.")
06) "Hero"
by Howard Gordon & Tim Minear
Plot: Doyle finally is going to get the chance to be a hero when he, Angel, & Cordelia face The Scourge, a race of powerful demons striving to kill all demon half-breeds in the world, specifically targeting a family attempting to escape off a freighter.
And Because?: True the Scourge are a blatant Nazi race and it all feels a little quick, this is one of the saddest television episodes I have ever seen. I really did not see it coming. They killed off Doyle and he is gone. I looked it up on Wikipedia, he died, and is gone. He and Cordelia were going to go out and he died. It's made all the more sad watching the video he recorded in the beginning. Rest in piece, Glenn Quinn and Doyle, both real and fantastical worlds were a better place with you in them.
05) "Rm w/a Vu"
by Jane Espenson
Plot: Cordelia is amazingly happy to have found a comfortable living establishment after her last involved a serious case of cochroaches. However, he nice new place is attempting to kick her out, as the spirit of a mother who's son ran away with a girl is trying to kick her out.
And Because?: Another more lighthearted story focused on Cordelia. This one has you feel really sorry for her, 'cause, I mean, if you like anyone at all you do not want to see them suffer the trials of cockroaches. It also sets up her new "pad" ("How was your trip back to the 70's), introducing her beautiful place along with my favorite silent character ever: Phantom Dennis.
04) "Somnambulist"
by Tim Minear
Plot: After experiencing pleasent dreams about him murdering humans, Angel becomes convinced he's doing the attacks after they happen in real life. Though it may not be Angelus leaking through, his past is coming back to haunt him.
And Because?: Now we're getting to the absolutely perfect part of the list. Coincidentally, these are all important episodes to the arc. This is the one where Kate learns that Angel's a vamp. Their conflicts on this matter are best in this episode (they get kinda annoying in others), and Penn (Hawkeye!) is a great villain. Tim Minear hits it dead (pun) again, as he's to do in pretty much every other episode he's written. For an episode titled as it is, not a second of this great story is dull.
03) "Five by Five"
by Jim Kouf
Plot: Faith arrives in Los Angeles after her switching places with Buffy ("This Year's Girl"/"Who Are You") and takes a job in killing Angel from Wolfram & Hart. With murders aplenty and Wesley kidnapped, Angel's going to have to fight someone he doesn't believe is so lost.
And Because?: One of the few Angel two parters, and one of two I've seen so far (along with "Reprise"/"Ephiphany"). This first part, though surpassed by the second, is brilliant as well. I've always been a fan of Faith, and she was a great villain in this, making every second a death wish. I did get pissed at her when she beat the crap out of Wesley, though (No!) Her breakdown at the end was one of the single most jaw-dropping moments in the show I've seen, along with Doyle's death and [season two spoilers -- you've been warned again]: Angel firing Wesley, Cordy, and Gunn.
02) "Sanctuary"
by Tim Minear & Joss Whedon
Plot: Angel must protect Faith, who is on the mend after her meltdown in the previous episode, from Buffy, angry at what she did to her, the Watcher's Council, who is attempting to retrieve her, and the LAPD, who got a tip from Wolfram & Hart on her location.
And Because?: What else to expect from the grouping of the show's best two writers? Following from the epic ending of it's last part, it turns from Angel fighting Faith to protecting her, from basically freaking everyone, including Buffy (who angered me in this one -- Angel is about 100.01% better than Riley!). Ranging from sweet moments (Angel defending his "foe"), to funny ("Oh, you mean the microwave"), to totally awesome (Angel leaping at the helicopter). Together, this two-parter makes the best of Angel season one, but as a stand-alone, which I'm doing here, this one comes up second.
What's better? Well, obviously it's going to be under the mandatory "Top 5 Honorable Mentions" & "Spotlight Contender:"
Top 5 Honorable Mentions:
01) "In the Dark"
Oz delivers Angel a gift, and Spike wants it back.
02) "Parting Gifts"
Cordelia learns Doyle passed to her his visions from the Powers That Be.
03) "The Prodigal"
Kate's father gets caught up in a demon drug operation.
04) "Eternity"
Angel makes friends with a movie star nearly assassinated on the street.
05) "Blind Date"
Lindsey feels guilty about Wolfram & Hart's latest operation.
Spotlight Contender:
01) "I Will Remember You"
Buffy follows Angel back to L.A. This one would be somewhere along the 9-10 spot of my list if it didn't feel so much like a "Buffy" episode.
01) "To Shanshu in L.A."
by David Greenwalt
Plot: Learning of a prophecy fortelling his death, Angel faces Wolfram & Hart's final attack of the season, weaking him by taking his friends and his headquarters out of the picture. With time running out and Cordy and Wesley in the hospital, it's up to Angel to stop Wolfram & Hart and their deadly demon from finishing their plot.
And Because?: Before we get onto the episode, I have to give props to the name. Watch the episode and you'll learn why. My fingers snapped with the revelation. Anyways, this one is basically everything I could want in an Angel episode. Plenty of the Fang Gang. Plenty of Wolfram & Hart. Plenty of a secondary formidable foe. The group facing hardships but prevailing in the end. Some mighty powerful snippits of what comes soon (Lindsey's losing of his hand & Cordelia learning the troubles L.A. really has). 10/10. Bring it on, the rest of the show!
Thanks, Fellow Fang Fans Finding a Fantastic Phrase (pretend it starts with an F) For us Fellows.
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